The Mosquito Coast book review

After reading a few travelogues by Paul Theroux, he has become one of my favorite authors. But, are his fictional books just as entertaining and well-written? Well, I decided to find the answer to that question. This is The Mosquito Coast book review, a discussion about this fictional adventure novel by Paul Theroux.

During The Mosquito Coast book review, I promise not to reveal the storyline, the many plot twists, or the nail-biting ending. Instead, I will focus on the writing, the characters, the settings, and my thoughts along the way.

Most of the story takes place in the jungles of Honduras. I hate jungles, partly because of the highly uncomfortable humidity. Above all, I hate the idea of having lots of snakes, mischievous monkeys, pesky mosquitoes, and other insects sharing my living space. Plus, I can’t forget about the rats—there were lots of rats in this novel.

For me to read this story, I had to get used to all that wildlife. I had to imagine it, and place myself in the mindset of each of the characters. At times, those images made my skin crawl.

As I read, I was thankful I was not really there. Instead, it was only the vivid imagery conjured up by the skillful author.

As I started to read, I was intrigued by the main protagonist, who in this case was the father. I shared his views about organized religion, and about life in general.

He was a brilliant man, and found creative solutions to make his family’s jungle expedition more successful. Unfortunately, he didn’t fit in well with society, and maybe that’s what drove him to live in Honduras.

I identified with the guy, because my socially inept characteristics have made my life more difficult—I think the father in this story suffered with his symptoms, too.

Over time, the father’s obsessions took over his life. In addition, I think the father was mildly autistic, but with some specifically more severe symptoms.

As the story progressed, I saw how the father interacted with his family. I realized that, in addition to being a brilliant inventor, he was also an arrogant SOB. Even though I agreed with his beliefs, his arrogance became too overwhelming.

He became self-centered, and reminded me of some of the arrogant politicians we see in the United States. Those arrogant politicians, and the thoughtless words they have tweeted out, have gotten innocent people killed.

Just like the self-centered politicians, the father’s arrogance put his family in danger. Halfway through the book, he became a not-so-nice guy. At this point, I didn’t like him very much, and was hoping his arrogance didn’t get his entire family killed.

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Despite my gradual aversion for the main character, I couldn’t stop reading. Maybe my eventual dislike for the father made me want to read even more.

Or, maybe my admiration of the other members of his family made me want to find out what happened. I especially admired his wife. She stood up for the man, even when everything he touched eventually would threaten to destroy them.

As I read, the author’s brilliant choice of descriptive words and phrases helped paint a realistic picture. I could feel the motivations and fears of every person.

Unfortunately, there were a few smaller parts of the storyline that raised some questions in my mind. For instance, I wondered if they had brushed or flossed their teeth while on their adventure.

The author didn’t mention their oral health, but it must have been a concern. After all, periodontal disease can develop quickly, and would have had a detrimental effect on their health and their lives in the jungle.

Even though the father had carefully planned the whole journey for the family, he seemed to have neglected dental-care supplies. Their breath must have been wretched after the first month.

Eventually, I had to just assume that they were taking care of their teeth. The question of poor oral hygiene especially came up when a missionary girl gave the son a passionate kiss.

The whole family had been eating cooked rats, along with other jungle-animals, for the previous few months. And then, this well-cared-for missionary girl had just kissed the teenage boy without flinching at his terrible-tasting mouth?

That part didn’t seem quite real, but it wasn’t enough of a distraction to ruin the overall storyline for me.

The other aspect that almost ruined the storyline for me was when the father made some serious errors in judgment.

For instance, he built their second living space in an area that could be and was seriously flooded during the rainy season. He was a brilliant man, so he should have understood ahead of time that an extreme flood would be likely in that location.

At that point, though, it was obvious the father was becoming unhinged, so that might have explained his many careless oversights. There were other oversights, also, that put his family in extreme danger.

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Fortunately, those unbelievable aspects of the storyline were not enough to ruin the concept. Maybe, just maybe, those iffy aspects made me want to read more.

I have read some very good novels in my life, but this one was right up there with the best. I empathized with each family member so much, that I could not stop reading!

This story was a soap opera, with a tinge of horror mixed in. And believe me, this book had some brilliant plot twists that reminded me of some of the best horror stories.

As the twists-and-turns unfolded, I felt fearful, primitive emotions that were being aroused deep within me. In a way, I wanted to stop reading because of those fearful stirrings, but I kept reading anyway.

After I turned the last page, I rubbed my forehead and thought, ‘wow, that was a really good book.’ But, at the same time, it was a painful story to read, maybe because of some of the horrific moments.

As it turns out, The Mosquito Coast was a surprisingly good and brilliant novel. I did not imagine it would have been so good.

I remember there was a movie based on this book only a few decades ago. Back then, the commercials promoting the film did not entice me. In fact, there was something about the whole production that put me off, and I never bothered to see the movie.

Maybe it was stars of the movie, all of whom have had outstanding careers, or maybe it was just the wild, jungle environment. After all, I have always hated camping when I was a kid—most of all, I have always hated the bugs, the inconveniences, and the spooky night sounds.

Now, after reading this book, I still do not want to see the movie. How could a movie possibly capture all the emotions that the book stirred up in my mind?

The book was brilliant, and was so outstanding that I can’t imagine any movie replicating this very moving, very dramatic story.

TAKEAWAYS:

To sum it up, I loved The Mosquito Coast, and was surprised that I had become so enthralled with this family’s jungle adventure.. If you love adventurous, stirring dramas, with some psychologically horrific moments thrown into the mix, you will love this book, too.

Thanks for reading The Mosquito Coast book review! If you’ve read the book, or have seen any of the movies, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter